Top financial advisors working with young professionals in Waterbury, CT

Brianna Gambacini is a CFP® and Series 66-registered financial advisor with Ameriprise in Waterbury, CT, bringing two years of industry experience. Her background includes roles at Gentle Care Animal Hospital and academic positions at the University of Connecticut and North Carolina State University. She is also involved in managing her own advisory business, Honey Badger Management. Ameriprise provides retirement-income planning services primarily for individuals approaching or in retirement with significant investable assets, combining research, modeling, and tax-efficiency analysis to deliver tailored, non-discretionary recommendations.

Conrad Tarte is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) with 44 years of industry experience. He is currently with Independent Financial Group, LLC and has held roles at Grove Point Advisors, LLC, Continental Nine Financial Management, and Grove Point Investments, LLC. Tarte is the sole owner of Continental Nine Financial Services and Continental Nine Financial Management, where he provides fee-based investment advisory, tax preparation, estate planning, and life insurance services. Independent Financial Group, LLC is a dual-registered broker-dealer and SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, charities, corporations, and plan sponsors. The firm offers a range of advisory programs through its AccessPoint platform and third-party asset managers, managing approximately $11.3 billion in regulatory assets.

Thomas Moran is a financial advisor at OSAIC Institutions, INC. with 37 years of industry experience. He holds Series 63 and Series 65 licenses and has worked at Infinex Investments, Inc. since 2019 and previously at LPL Financial, LLC from 2011 to 2019. OSAIC Institutions serves individuals, charitable organizations, corporations, and retirement plans with a range of advisory and brokerage services. The firm offers customized advisory engagements, financial planning, ERISA plan services, access to alternative investments, and lending and cash-management options, primarily through a network of investment adviser representatives.

Klaus Engstler is a financial advisor at Edward Jones in Middlebury, CT, with seven years of industry experience. He holds the CFA® and ChFC® designations, as well as Series 66 and Series 63 licenses. Engstler has been with Edward Jones since 2019. Edward Jones is a full-service wealth management firm serving over four million individual and institutional clients. The firm offers a range of investment strategies and affiliated services, managing approximately $1.01 trillion in assets through a nationwide network of financial advisors and branch offices.

Emily Medrek is a financial advisor with LPL Financial in Waterbury, CT, holding Series 63 and Series 65 designations and 24 years of industry experience. She previously worked at People's Securities, Inc. for 24 years and has been with Webster Bank since 2023. LPL Financial is an SEC-registered investment adviser and broker-dealer serving individuals, retirement plans, banks, corporations, and charitable organizations through a national network of investment adviser representatives. The firm offers a range of financial planning and advisory programs, including model portfolios and retirement plan consulting, supported by research from LPL and third-party subadvisors.

Donald Harris is a financial advisor at Beaird Harris with 29 years of industry experience. He holds the Series 63 and Series 65 designations and has been with Beaird Harris Wealth Management, Inc. since 1996, as well as Beaird Harris & Co P.C. since 1989. Outside of his advisory role, he serves as a managing officer and trustee for several trusts and management companies. Beaird Harris Wealth Management, LLC is a fee-only, SEC-registered investment adviser serving individuals, high net worth clients, trusts, estates, charitable organizations, pension plans, and business entities. The firm employs Modern Portfolio Theory with diversified asset-class exposure primarily through low-cost mutual funds and ETFs, and it offers alternative investments and tax-managed strategies.

Katie Strother is a financial advisor with Curi Capital, LLC in Raleigh, NC, holding CFP® and Series 65 credentials and bringing 11 years of industry experience. Her prior experience includes roles at Park Ridge Asset Management and Curi RMB Capital LLC. Outside of her advisory work, she is involved in her community as a nursery room leader at Peace Church and serves as a varsity girls soccer coach at Wilson Christian Academy. Curi Capital is an SEC-registered investment adviser managing approximately $11.6 billion in assets and serving individuals, retirement plans, institutions, and family offices. The firm employs a long-term, fundamental investment approach using proprietary and third-party strategies across equity and fixed income, and offers a range of services including wealth management and specialized offerings for medical professionals.

Jill Raderstorf is a financial advisor at Aptus Financial, LLC with two years of industry experience. She holds a Series 65 designation and previously worked at Hamilton Capital, LLC and Fifth Third Bank. Outside of her advisory role, she serves as an unpaid advisor to Accelerating Angels, a venture investment firm focused on high-growth, women-owned businesses, where she assists with building due diligence processes. Aptus Financial provides flat-fee financial planning and advisory services to individuals, trusts, charitable organizations, and employer-sponsored defined-contribution plans. The firm emphasizes financial planning over discretionary portfolio management, supporting clients with passive, long-term indexing strategies, structured educational programs, and subscription-based ongoing support.

We’re built for families! We focus on bridging generations to connect families and their finances. As Baby Boomers, you created more wealth than any generation before you. Now in your retirement years, the economic expansion that aided your careers doesn’t feel as robust. You worry about your savings lasting a lengthy life expectancy. You also worry that your children and grandchildren will be the first generation to not have it better than the generation before them. Our goal is to solve both problems. Our structure allows us to provide the same great advice whether you have a lifetime of savings or you are just starting out. That means we can work with multiple generations, and where appropriate, find opportunities to coordinate across generations while maintaining privacy and independence. I am a millennial myself with over a decade of experience helping retirees with personal finances. That combination of youth and experience gives me an advantage over many of the advisors out there. My youth, to retirees, means I am likely to be around for the entirety of your retirement. All those plans you made with your advisor, will be executed by the advisor that helped you plan them. If that includes an inheritance, good news because I want to work with your heirs too! To a younger generation, you get an advisor you can relate to who doesn’t treat your problems as less significant because you don’t have the same level of assets. Just because I’m young, doesn’t mean I’m green! I was previously the Practicing Partner of a wealth management firm focused solely on retirees. As the lead portfolio manager, I oversaw almost $500 million in client portfolios. That experience means I’ve guided and advised clients through every stage of a successful retirement. It also means I know what a successful retirement looks like. As I’ve always said, best laid plans begin with the end in mind, so my experience serves just as well early in your journey to financial independence. I started my own firm because I saw an increasing need to reconnect families and their finances. Grandparents are providing child care, children are providing elderly care, and everyone is chipping in to pay for education. As much as ever families need each other, and our program is specifically designed to be prepared when they do.

Michael Grinnell is a Wealth Management Advisor at Merrill Lynch Wealth Management. Since joining the firm in 2015, he has brought a problem-solving approach influenced by his background in Mechanical Engineering, earned from Santa Clara University. Michael concentrates on business development, marketing, and engaging with the next generation of clients. His areas of expertise include education planning, family wealth management strategies, legacy planning, liquidity management, personal retirement planning, portfolio management services, and small business strategies. He holds several professional designations, including Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA), Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA), and Personal Investment Advisor (PIA). Outside of work, Michael enjoys a range of outdoor activities such as fishing, golfing, hiking, hunting, music, rock climbing, running, skiing, surfing, and tennis. He is actively involved in the community through organizations like St. Anthony Organization and The Covenant House California.